- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
In late February, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes will host over 150 Native college students in El Reno, Oklahoma for a weekend conference discussing Jesus and culture. Among the questions students will consider: Would Jesus eat frybread?
At the annual Would Jesus Eat Frybread (WJEF?) conference, students from across Turtle Island and Pasifika will hear from Indigenous speakers, talk with other Native college students, and share songs, dances, stories and traditional foods from their own cultures.
Ceidric Platero (Diné) attended his first WJEF? in 2016. “Before going to WJEF?, I thought that running from my culture was what Jesus asked me to do,” Platero shared about his 2016 experience in a statement. “What I found at this conference, besides warm hugs and good food, was an invitation from Jesus to not see my culture as a shameful background of my Christian life, but to see my culture as a blessing and [an] important part of who Creator God made me to be.”
Want more Native News? Get the free daily newsletter today.
Campus ministries Nations and Native InterVarsity have sponsored the conference since it began in 2012. They acknowledge Christianity can be a triggering topic for Native people, and they approach these conversations with kindness and good relations, under the belief that Indigenous people can find beauty and harmony in honoring both Jesus and Native culture.
Platero said the conference creates space to talk about narratives and cycles of shame, grieve historical trauma, make new friends, and heal together—“for generations passed and generations to come.”
WJEF22 will take place February 18 to 20. Featured speakers include Cheyenne elder and honored professor Dr. Henrietta Mann, Cheyenne and Arapaho motivational speaker Christian Wassana, and creator of the First Nations Version New Testament Terry Wildman (Ojibwe/Yaqui). Music will be provided by Jonathan Maracle (Mohawk).
Registration is now open on the conference website: wjef.org.
More Stories Like This
Native Bidaské with Erin Fehr on What Eclipses Mean to Various TribesCalifornia Roundtable Dissects Detriments of Public Law 280 to Tribal Public Safety, Sovereignty
Cherokee Veterans in the Nation’s Capital for 10th Cherokee Warrior Flight
Montana Supreme Court Strikes Down Voting Laws Intended to Disenfranchise Native Voters
Women’s History Month: Elizabeth Peratrovich (Tlingit)
Native Perspective. Native Voices. Native News.
We launched Native News Online because the mainstream media often overlooks news that is important is Native people. We believe that everyone in Indian Country deserves equal access to news and commentary pertaining to them, their relatives and their communities. That's why the story you’ve just finished was free — and we want to keep it that way, for all readers. We hope you'll consider making a donation to support our efforts so that we can continue publishing more stories that make a difference to Native people, whether they live on or off the reservation. Your donation will help us keep producing quality journalism and elevating Indigenous voices. Any contribution of any amount — big or small — gives us a better, stronger future and allows us to remain a force for change. Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous-centered journalism. Thank you.